Banners are used to advertise products, promotions and events. One type of banner is a flexible banner such as for example a flag. Although flexible banners are useful, when used in outdoor environments they are prone to ripping and may fade over time due to elements such as for example wind, rain, snow, ice etc.
Another type of banner is a rigid banner which is made of a strong, rigid material such as for example aluminum. Rigid banners may be coated with material to prevent fading. Compared to flexible banners, rigid banners are less prone to damage caused by wind forces. Further, rigid banners may be cut in unique shapes to create aesthetically pleasing and creative displays.
Banner support assemblies are used to connect banners to support members such as poles, light posts, etc. in such a manner that the banners may be easily seen but are out of reach of the public. When used in outdoor environments, banner support assemblies may break due to elements such as wind, rain, snow, ice, etc. Some banner support assemblies have been designed to withstand these elements.
One such type of banner support assembly is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,794 to Wolff which discloses an apparatus for suspending a flexible banner with respect to an upstanding post and including a pair of base plates that are fixed in spaced relation on the post, the base plates each having a pair of grooves extending longitudinally of the post adjacent the side edges of the base plate and a pair of swing plates having a pair of longitudinally extending lips that rest normally in the pairs of grooves in the base plates and each having means for fixing a banner supporting rod in the swing plate whereby the swing plates and the rods may be pivoted with respect to the base plate, and a spring between each of the swing plates and its respective base plate for yieldably restraining swinging movement of the swing plate and its rod.
The apparatus disclosed by Wolff allows movement of a banner supporting rod under wind load. In Wolff, each banner supporting rod is made of fiberglass and extends through a respective hem in upper and lower edges of a flexible banner. The resilience of the fiberglass rods allows the rods to yield and bend and allows bellying out of the flexible banner under light winds or breezes, with the outer edge of the banner being arc-shaped. For greater wind velocities the resilience of the fiberglass rods is not sufficient for preventing destruction of the flexible banner, and as such swing castings swing or tilt against the action of springs. The swinging movement of the swing castings allow sufficient bellying of the flexible banner with its outer edge being in arcuate shape. For still greater wind velocities, a ball and socket-like joint allows rotation, tilting and pivoting of the swing castings to accommodate swinging of distal ends of the fiberglass rods, particularly toward and away from each other when differing wind velocities and directions.
Although the apparatus disclosed by Wolff is able to support flexible banners, it is not able to support rigid banners as Wolff relies on the flexible nature of fiberglass rods that that simply cannot support the weight of a rigid banner especially under wind load.
Although banner support assemblies have been considered, these banner support assemblies cannot support rigid banners and as such improvements are desired. It is therefore an object at least to provide a novel rigid banner support assembly.